Not sure I'd want to deal with another Inquisition-type effect. And given how fast we'd be generating MSW effects using SS and PS in that suggested form (unless the auto-attack source is removed) I don't think it'd be particularly interesting, or fun for that matter.

When I first levelled my Shaman and got my hands on MSW? I thought it was awesome. It felt awesome. And to a certain degree I still do. I cannot agree with the sentiment that it is not rewarding, because the mechanic as a whole feels fun, damage be damned.

On the topic of Enhancement AoE:
Will probably sound like a blizzard dev when I say this, but I think it's fine. We're different from everyone else, and we have our own way of dealing AoE damage. From a player's perspective you call it clunky because it takes time to setup, while from a game designer's perspective (in a world where most of our time during encounters is spent executing unique spec-specific rotations) putting those hoops and loops in there is what makes the mechanic interesting to them.
BB's suggested AoE changes, while they certainly sound interesting on paper, are only that. The abilities do a lot on their own with tons of special rules, but there is little player interaction, as it boils down to pushing them on CD whenever we need AoE.
Blizzard would rather we think about how and when we push buttons to deal damage, even if it means the slight inconvenience of having to delay an ability for a few seconds to make it all line up. You see the same thing in some other specs too, like how Fire Mages have to time their combustion with good Ignite procs to deal good cleave damage.

But then again, maybe that'd be better for the game as a whole if we have to think less about our own rotations, and more about the encounters. Playing melee is already dreadfully boring as it is, given that many encounter mechanics focus on ranged and healers these days, ignoring melee.

im fine with clunky mechanics we have in aoe sector as long as they are rewarding equally to effort used, and tbh its only thing i would change in all clases aoe, to scale it depending on effort you have to put in it

The actual problem is Blizzard's hypocrisy.
Not a long time ago they clearly stated that they weren't too happy with how one-button AoE spell system works and how they want to make it a bit more interesting for everyone.

They went with Shaman first and messed it up.
Now Shaman has to deal with that mess.

Well, something like inquisition would be one possibility. Another would be an ability that actually dealt good damage, like elemental blast. EB actually provides both, good damage AND a neat buff.
The downside is: since it is a talent, it screws with resto not having a benefit, is balanced around ele also having access to it, so it is harder to balance for us. The cast speed increase system is also kinda dumb, and EB having a cd coupled with msw being a ppm also is kinda annoying.

I liked msw also the first time I had it. But hey, that was at a time when enh had no proper selfheal, and shamans did not have any cc. Of course I would be overjoyed to get something new and shiny to help with that. Fact is though: The cc of others is either without cc or instant cast. Ours is neither. Making hex instant for enh would be a proper step balance-wise, and devalue msw even more. As for self-healing: I dont know how it works for paladins nowadays, but I remember that they had a talent that gave their..judgements? a chance at making their next heal instant. I would prefer something like that over a stacking mechanic of shortened cast time anyday.
That would leave us with damage spells, and lb simply is to weak for enh, and also is more of an ele spell.

If they made EB baseline for enh and LB ele only, changed msw to only affect EB (hex becoming baseline, a new mechanic allowing for instant heals every now and then), balanced its damage for enh specifically, changing msw to increase its damage for every msw charge (and/or the duration of its buff)... add to that LL refreshing with FS (baked in 4p)... I think it could make for a nice game play.

As for aoe: I agree that ours doesn't look really bad in how it works. That is if encounters allow it to fully unfold, which is rarely enough the case. If blizz is adamant in making aoe phases short, our aoe has to change, or we'll be the worst in that area, always. Classes being different is all well and fine, but what if only one class is different, and worse than all the others with it? That's where the qualm is. Blizzard's homogenisation often hits shamans in that it gives their stuff away or nerfs it, but doesn't give them stuff through homogenisation back, at least not unless nerfed beforehand.

totems, aoe, cc, shared shock cd, msw, imbues, no recource/secondary recource... shamans stand out in a lot of ways that do not really benefit them, where others are extremely similar to each other, and perform better...just saying.

Last edited by Omanley; 2013-08-27 at 08:50 AM.

Originally Posted by Angoth

I'm sorry that Blizzard won't just gift wrap awesome in a cup and let you drink your fill.

My idea (that GC never replied to...surprise, surprise) was to have FN spread FS to 1-3 enemies every use. So essentially our AoE rotation wouldn't change, and the longer battles wouldn't be affected, but shorter battles would allow us to spread a little faster. Nothing worse than the times we FS a mob and it dies as we hit LL. But TBH I only really care about it for older content. More often than not I end up pulling a pack of 15-20, FS one (that dies instantly) and have to single target everything else.

Also, it's been a while since I've forum lurked around here. Seeing Omanley still around just made my morning! =D

My idea (that GC never replied to...surprise, surprise) was to have FN spread FS to 1-3 enemies every use. So essentially our AoE rotation wouldn't change, and the longer battles wouldn't be affected, but shorter battles would allow us to spread a little faster. Nothing worse than the times we FS a mob and it dies as we hit LL. But TBH I only really care about it for older content. More often than not I end up pulling a pack of 15-20, FS one (that dies instantly) and have to single target everything else.

i see small tehnical problem with it cose FN is blowing from every flame shock so at begining it would be really slow ramp up time but it would rise exponentially so in 2 cds you would have FS on 12 targets but in 3 cds (12 sec) you would have FS on up to 36 targets which could go easly out of control expecially on big bgs and would be really hard to balance imo not mentioning you could spread FS without even coming close to the target

i see small tehnical problem with it cose FN is blowing from every flame shock so at begining it would be really slow ramp up time but it would rise exponentially so in 2 cds you would have FS on 12 targets but in 3 cds (12 sec) you would have FS on up to 36 targets which could go easly out of control expecially on big bgs and would be really hard to balance imo not mentioning you could spread FS without even coming close to the target

So how about this. Instead of spreading FS, it spreads something like Burning Embers from the FS victim. They would be the jumping spell instead of FS and only jump from the shaman's own FS. That would cut down on the exponential jumps, but still allow it to spread faster. If damage is too high, Burning Embers' damage could be cut down to less than that of FS.